Marvel Comics has proved that even superheroes have a shelf life after killing off a major character in its X-Men series, in a scene described by one of the writers as "very Shakespearean".

The development has been met with a combination of outrage and cynicism, but with the comic book Avengers vs X-Men #11 already on newsstands and attracting favourable reviews, fans are coming to terms with the loss of a popular character. (If you're one of them, and haven't read the story yet, you are advised to stop reading now.)

SPOILER ALERT!! Stop reading now if you don't want to know the plot

Professor Charles Xavier, who founded the X-Men almost 50 years ago, is murdered in the new issue of Avengers Vs X-Men by one of his former students, none other than X-Men leader Cyclops. Also known as Scott Summers, Cyclops has been taken over by the Phoenix force.

Writer Brian Michael Bendis said Xavier's death "felt very Shakespearean". "I don't always write in a very Shakespearean way but as I was putting the final touches on the scene and then when I saw the pencils I was quite surprised how large the tragedy truly felt," he told Marvel. "Not only does Cyclops, who is arguably not in control of his own actions, murder his father, for lack of a better word, but he does it in front of every major player in the Marvel Universe. This isn't some rumour that's been spread around. Everyone saw him do it. Scott knows what he has done."

Nonethless, Bendis said he was "very happy" that the Marvel team "voted to whack the man". The franchise, he said, had outgrown the bald telepath who founded the X-Men in 1963, and "all of the characters had moved on to a place where Charles himself wasn't really needed anymore".

The moment of Xavier's murder sees a fire-swept Cyclops tell his mentor: "You are not my father". Xavier responds: "That is enough!", and Cyclops agrees. "It is," he says, before blasting his father figure.